Private oil companies like Reliance Industries (RIL), Essar Oil and Shell India have expressed concerns over the unfair pricing strategies being adopted by the public oil companies, which have forced the private sector nearly out of the business.
The petroleum and natural gas regulatory board (PNGRB), the apex regulatory and quasi judicial body for the sector, has now decided to entertain a formal complaint by the private companies against unfair means adopted by their state-run counterparts.
A three-member bench of the board constituted to look into the issue has said that the board was competent to entertain and consider such complaint while rejecting the argument put forward by public sector oil companies.